


ravine

by fadetodust



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 10:49:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16763668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadetodust/pseuds/fadetodust
Summary: He wondered how good he'd taste. If he would taste as delicious to those swaying scavengers as a drop of water would taste on his tongue.





	ravine

**Author's Note:**

> Just something that came to mind one night I had to get out ;)  
> Hope you enjoy

There wasn't a doubt in Tyler's mind that he was doing the right thing as he trudged through the wildflowers. The vast landscape before him seemed endless, and he longed to see his friend again. He wondered if the animals had already gotten to him, or his body, whichever remained.

He felt heavy, lethargic as each step sent a surge of pain through his body. _Faster, faster_ he pleaded to himself. Blood ran down from his eyebrow, a dark red that had begun to turn sticky and dry. He blinked the sweat from his eyes. They stung.

_Running out of time_

Tyler traveled through the straw-like weeds and stumbled over the sun-scorched rocks. A hole was already forming in the sole of his shoe, and he smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, searching for moisture. He had run out of water an hour ago, the empty thermos falling from his fingers and hitting the earth. Tyler wondered how long it would be before he reached any sign of human life. If there was any life to reach at all.

No road was in sight, and for a moment he thought maybe he was headed in the wrong direction. He searched his mental notes, pulling up still frames of Josh and the tree he had pointed out when they had realized they were lost. The tree he was standing right in front of.  
_East, we're heading East_. Josh had told him. Thankfully, Tyler had his compass. His Pop Pop had given it to him when he was only a boy. So he clung to it and followed where it pointed West. He had nowhere else to go.

The vultures overhead carried out their graceful dance in the sky just above him. He wondered how good he'd taste. If he would taste as delicious to those swaying scavengers as a drop of water would taste on his tongue. His sweat had dried days ago and never returned. He licked his cracked lips, but there was nothing to wet them. He wanted to cry, but there were no tears to cry with.

Four days. Tyler had been wandering the wilderness for four days in search for help when Josh appeared beside him, wild hair and cheeky grin. "Hey there, stud."

"J-Josh?" Tyler reached out a trembling hand in disbelief. "Are you a ghost?" He asked, rewarded with an eerie laugh.

"I'm not a ghost, Tyler. But I will be soon if you don't hurry up." Josh's smile fell then, turning his face stony.

"I'm trying." Tyler's voice was wrecked, miserable. "I'm trying, Josh."

"I'm going to die, Tyler. You're going to kill me. Why are you letting me die all alone?" Josh asked him.

"No." Tyler cried and lunged forward, grasping the thin air. Josh seemed to disperse into an array of sheer colors before disappearing altogether. Tyler laughed then. A small thing at first but quickly turning into hysterics.

Hallucinations had begun, and now help seemed to be the farthest thing from reality.

Tyler began counting his steps to pass the time. He had gotten good at ignoring Not-Josh who appeared ever so often, until he stopped appearing at all. He would lose count fairly quickly, his mind becoming increasingly disoriented and so he'd start the counting all over again. The toes of his shoes dragged through the dirt, tearing them little by little.

Tyler tried his phone again, but there was no signal.  
battery percentage indicator blinked red. One percent.  
"Come on. Please." He begged dryly before holding it to the sky. An angry sob tore from his chest when not one bar appeared. He threw it to the ground and collapsed, praying for water, praying for Josh, praying for a miracle.

He didn't know how much time had gone by as he lay on the hard terrain, watching winged silhouettes glide nearer. They cast shadows over his face as the sun beat down on his charred skin. He couldn't swallow, and his vision was so poor that he saw mirrors of everything. His muscles failed to carry him. There was no strength left. He couldn't go on. "I'm sorry." He couldn't save Josh. He just _couldn't_.

_”Tyler, come back to me."_

"I failed you, baby." Tyler whimpered and waited to die.

  
*******

  


It was dark when Josh had lost the dirt road, driving them miles off the path and into the narrow ravine, crushing the front of the Jeep like a tin can. He had seen the drop off too late, and Tyler's head hit the passenger side window, rendering him unconscious. Josh had screamed. He screamed and cried and begged Tyler to wake up, and after one day and one night, he did. Tyler tried to pry the steering wheel from where it crushed Josh's chest, his rib cage. He attempted to pull Josh's legs free from beneath the dash. Nothing would budge.

"I can't breathe. Tyler, I can't breathe." Josh began to panic, so Tyler took his face in his hands and talked him down from the edge with loving words and promises, keeping his tears at bay for Josh's sake.

"You have to, Josh." Tyler had ordered, and somehow his voice did not falter. "Breathe for me." Josh obeyed, taking short breaths in quick succession as Tyler tried once again to pull the steering wheel from Josh's pinned body. "Fuck stop, it hurts." Josh panted.

"I'm going to get help."

"No, Tyler. Don't leave me."

"I have no choice! You'll die here." And that's when a few angry tears slipped down Tyler's face, and Josh felt despair in knowing his friend could die just as well out there.

Tyler contemplated taking the tent with him, but it was large and heavy. He knew it would only hinder his pace. The less he took the better if he was going to make good time. He reached into the backseat and took the bag that had the rest of their food and water in it, and he tucked it close to Josh making sure he would have easy access. 

He rummaged through the canned goods, shoving a container of oats out of the way until he found the empty thermos he was looking for.

Tyler cursed. Why hadn’t they brought more rations? He filled his thermos up completely and grabbed a few protein bars, throwing them into his knapsack.

“You need to take more.” Josh breathed deeply without realizing and winced in discomfort.

“I’ll be fine. You have uh, three and a half bottles of water, the rest of the bars-” Tyler wiped the sweat from his brow. “Fuck.”

”I can’t move my arm.” Josh looked up at him worriedly. “Hurts so bad.” 

Tyler felt ill. Josh wouldn’t well be able to care for himself in this state. He set to moving the water and food in a position he hoped Josh could manage with his other hand. Then he zipped the knapsack and swung it over his shoulder

"Tyler, come back to me."

"I'm coming back for you. I promise." He told Josh, leaning in and kissing him deeply, knowing it could very well be the last time.

  


*******

  


One, two, three, four-

Pain. So much pain and Tyler just wanted it to stop. He wanted to rest. He was so tired.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen-

There was a voice, and Tyler wondered if he was dead. 

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty-

"Breathe!" Tyler felt pressure in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but if the stars behind his lids were anything to go by, it was bad. Whatever it was had pulled him from his peaceful darkness and he longed for it again. He could still feel it lingering near. "Breathe!"

Then something was on his lips as awareness stirred. An intense pressure filled the hollow space in his lungs, and he felt himself ripped completely from the black. Now there was just white hot _pain_.

He gasped a wheezing breath into his sore lungs, followed by another one. Distorted voices filled his ears, and hands were on his aching sternum as he continued to choke for breath. The sun was hot anew, and the _water_. Water was on his lips. Hands were gripping him all over, but he didn't care as there was a bottle filled with cool water and it was flooding his mouth.

"That's it, son. Get some fluids in you." The man in a medical uniform held Tyler's head from the ground as he assisted him in drinking as much water as he would take. There was a swoosh swoosh swoosh nearby and it took Tyler a moment to recognize it as the sound of helicopter blades. Water poured down the sides of his mouth, soaking his shirt as he gulped, unable to get enough. He never tasted anything more beautiful in his entire life.

Tyler finally stopped drinking long enough to croak his friend's name.

The rescue team checked Tyler's vitals and carried him to the helicopter, hooking him up to an IV drip. "Don't worry, son. We'll find your friend." They placed a pair of ear muffs on Tyler's head and radio'd in that SAR had found Tyler Joseph, one of the two missing members of Twenty One Pilots. But when the pilot added that there may still be a fatality, tears were finally able to prick Tyler's eyes.

He pointed them in the direction where he believed the car had crashed, but as he watched out the window, he didn't recognize anything. A fear churned inside of his gut and he tried to imagine Josh still waiting for him, alive.

But as they flew over the vast landscape and hills, there was still no sign of Josh or the car. Tyler chewed his cracked lips, and they bled onto his tongue with the sharp taste of iron. He licked it away and shook his head.

"No, no. This is wrong. I don't see it." He felt a pain in his aching chest, and it wasn't his broken rib. He thought all was lost when finally, he saw it. The bright, bright blue paint of Josh's Jeep.

Joy spread over Tyler's face so quick he thought surely his face would rip apart. "There! It's there! Oh thank God." He sobbed with what little strength he had. " _Josh_."

They were able to land the helicopter half a mile away, and when the rescue crew advised Tyler to stay at the aircraft, he downright refused.

"Listen, Tyler. You're in bad shape."

"I have to go! You don't understand." Tyler ripped the needle out of his arm.

"You-". The EMT looked grim. "You may not like what you find."

"It's Josh. I told him that I'd come back for him. I promised." Josh was waiting for him, damnit. His eyes glistened with determination, and after a long moment, the man nodded. Tyler didn't hesitate another second before jumping down from the copter and limping to join the group.

As soon as the Jeep came into view, Tyler shouted Josh's name. One of the rescue team members had to hold Tyler back while the others carefully removed the metal door from the Jeep. Tyler shook in anticipation and utter _need_ to reach his best friend.

The sounds of machines cutting through metal echoed for what seemed like hours before finally, they pulled a limp Josh from the vehicle. Tyler couldn't breathe as he took in just how lifeless and doll-like Josh looked. They slowly lowered his body onto the stretcher and then Tyler's arms were released.

"Josh, Josh I'm here. Baby, I'm here." He touched Josh's overheated yet ashen face before someone stepped between them, placing a mask over Josh's mouth and nose. Tyler felt disconnected, like he was in a dream as they were quickly airlifted to the nearest hospital.

  


*******

  


Josh opened his eyes, the light instantly blinding, but the pain was gone. He heard what sounded like a rhythm, a breathing sound. Someone was snoring, and something soft was pressed up against his cheek. He reached over to touch it with fingers, but found his arm disobeyed. He looked down to see a cast neatly covering his entire limb down to wrap around his hand.

The soft thing moved then, tickling his face. He turned his head into it and smelled dirt, sweat, and something that reminded him of Tyler.

Tyler.

"Ty." Josh whispered, his voice rough and scratchy in his throat. " _Tyler_." He tried again. And then there he was, face stricken with worry.

"Shh, Josh. I'm here." Tyler cood. "I'm here. I'm right here.

"Tyler." Josh wrapped his fingers around Tyler's arm, grateful he had one working limb and pulled him closer, desperate to embrace the younger man.

"Careful Josh, you're basically broken everywhere." Tyler pulled back, seeing how Josh's eyes glittered. They were beautiful. "I know the morphine makes you feel good. but you've got a lot of healing to do. You have to take it easy.”

"You did it." Josh murmured, taking in how gaunt and exhausted the younger man looked. Tyler shook his head. "You did it, baby boy."

"I didn't." Tyler bit his lip, a far off look in his eyes before he continued. "They found me...I was, I was dying." Tyler looked away and wiped his eyes. Josh didn't say anything, giving Tyler the chance to find his words. "It was Mark who put out the word that we were missing."

"Mark." Josh whispered. "That son-of-a-bitch." Tyler nodded, and it was clear how the singer was shaking like a leaf, Josh could almost _feel_ it. And then Tyler fell apart.

"God Josh. I thought I'd lost you."

Josh's eyes pooled with tears as Tyler sobbed.

"Come here." Josh begged. Tyler didn't have to be asked twice.

"Josh." Tyler closed his eyes and captured Josh's lips gently. He held on to the injured man like a delicate petal beneath his palms, and when they finally pulled apart, Josh took a good long look at the younger man.

"You look terrible." It was a short beat before Tyler laughed, and then soon they were both in a fit of giggles. Tyler sniffled and pressed his lips to Josh's hand.

"Yeah well, everyone's been trying to make me shower, but I couldn't leave you." Tyler confessed. "Not again."

"I thought I lost you, too." Josh admitted, staring down at the white bed sheet covering him. "When you left, I thought that was it. I'd never see you again."

"I'm sorry." Tyler said quietly.

“No, Ty. I’m sorry. I was so fucking stupid and reckless.”

“Don’t, Josh,”. Tyler shook his head adamantly. “Don’t-“

"Hold me."

"But I'm filthy-

"I don't care". He sighed when the singer crawled carefully into the space beside him.

"Ty?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Tyler smiled against Josh's shoulder, heedful not to touch anywhere bandaged, which proved difficult as that just happened to be most of him.

He gently brushed a few strands of hair from Josh's forehead, then traced his arched eyebrow with one fingertip. "I love you, Josh."

Trailing his fingers up and down the cast on Josh's arm, Tyler sighed. "Just promise me, if you ever want to take me on a camping trip again, we go no further than the backyard, yeah?"

Josh grinned. "Promise."


End file.
